18 Months in the Big Apple: Senior's Celebrate...Christmas Is Coming!

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Senior's Celebrate...Christmas Is Coming!

Elder and Sister Smith planned a great December Senior Missionary Social to usher in the Christmas Season. We went to the famous Sardi's Restaurant for their business lunch. The food was very good with great service, a festive atmosphere, and we were with such cherished friends.

Sardi's is famous for their signed caricatures of celebrities that decorate the walls.

The Smith's filled New York City mugs with candy and had it at each of our places!

We attended the matinee performance of the famous 76th Annual Radio City Christmas Spectacular. The sets were magical, with joyful music, starring the high-kicking legendary Rockettes. Santa arrived with the reindeer in the beginning and we wore 3-D glasses. It was very well done and we all enjoyed it. The Rockettes performed their famous "Parade of the Wooden Soldiers." They also danced as darling rag dolls. There was a meaningful story told about two brothers who were looking for the perfect Christmas gift for their sister and Santa was the helper and narrator.

In the end, and the most marvelous gift of Christmas was the birth of Christ. The living nativity with camels, sheep, and beautiful set was so touching. We live in the most secular city in the world, and yet the birth of our Savior was what was celebrated and it was spectacular. Thanks Smiths for hosting a most memorable and festive activity.

Just a quick block away is Rockefeller Center with the most incredible Christmas Tree.

Toy Soldiers with flags and beautiful angels decorate the Square.
Manhattan is magical at Christmas.

1 comment:

Sharon said...: What an absolutely stunning post! You captured the flavor and color of the day and of this majestic city of Manhattan at Christmas time.

The senior outing was truly wonderful. We loved sharing it with the Wests...as always.

Hope your season is spectacular:-); December 11, 2008 at 3:27 PM

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“Service is the virtue that has distinguished the great of all times and which they will be remembered by. It places a mark of nobility upon its disciples. It is the dividing line which separates the two great groups of the world–those who lift and those who lean, those who contribute and those who only consume. How much better it is to give than to receive. Service in any form is comely and beautiful. To give encouragement, to impart sympathy, to show interest, to banish fear, to build self-confidence and awaken hope in the heart of others, in short–to love them and to show it –is to render the most precious service.”

Bryant S. Hinckley

January 10, 2008 we arrived in Queens, New York. We are currently serving as full-time missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We were called to serve in the New York, New York South Mission. It is a special and unique assignment. Serving here is like teaching all nations, with missionaries who teach in English, Spanish, Korean, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), Russian and American Sign Language. Nearly 10 million people live within our mission, representing 112 nationalities. We are blessed to be serving along side the most incredible missionaries in the world! We love President and Sister Bennion who have been cherished friends since he was the president of Ricks College. We are happy to be serving the Lord and living on Steinway Street in Astoria.
Thank you for visiting our blog! Please feel free to leave comments or questions. It makes our day:-)

History of the New York, New York South Mission

Long before our mission was organized, Elder Parley P. Pratt was the first missionary in this dispensation to preach the Gospel in New York City and Long Island.
This mission has significant historic roots. It is the heart of the former Eastern States Mission which was established in 1839.
That mission, headquartered in Brooklyn, enjoys the distinction of being the second oldest mission of the Church, behind the British Mission.
The Eastern States Mission consisted of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, and West Virginia in 1948. Since that time, many changes have been made in the boundries of the mission.
The name of the mission was changed from the Eastern States Mission to the New York New York Mission in 1974. At that time the mission included the following areas: New York State as far as Poughkeepsie, the entire state of Connecticut, a small part of Massachusetts, as well as part of New Jersey and the island of Bermuda. The mission boundaries were once again changed in 1976 excluding Massachusetts and all of the state of Connecticut, with the exception of Fairfield County.
In 1987, after another boundary change was made, the New York New York Mission consisted of the five boroughs of New York City (Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Staten Island), Long Island, New York State north to Poughkeepsie, a portion of Connecticut and the island of Bermuda.
The mission was divided once again in 1993. The New York New York South Mission encompasses the New York City boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn and Staten Island, as well as the New York counties of Nassau and Suffolk on Long Island. It also includes the small British Island of Bermuda in the Atlantic.